The College of Education welcomes several new faculty who bring decades of expertise, cutting-edge research, and innovative teaching to our community.
Heerak Choi
Assistant Professor
Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
Heerak Choi earned her doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from Michigan State University in 2024. She subsequently completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University before joining the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on psychosocial functioning among youth with disabilities, with particular emphasis on self-stigma and empowerment.
Juyoung Jung
Research Assistant Professor
Center for Advanced Studies in Measurement and Assessment (CASMA)
Juyoung Jung is a research assistant professor in the Center for Advanced Studies in Measurement and Assessment (Psychological and Quantitative Foundations). He earned his PhD in Educational Measurement and Statistics from the University of Iowa. His expertise encompasses advanced statistical methods in meta-analysis, psychometrics, and machine learning.
John Lannin
Professor
Mathematics Education
John Lannin, PhD, Illinois State University, is a professor of Mathematics Education whose research focuses on students’ mathematical reasoning, generalization, justification, and teacher learning. His work examines how teachers support meaningful mathematical discourse and how emerging tools, including generative AI, can be used to support mathematics teaching and learning.
Carrie Lorig
Assistant Professor
School Psychology
Carrie Lorig completed her doctoral training in School Psychology at Georgia State University and her pre-doctoral internship at Guilford County Schools Psychological Services in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her research focuses on the intersection between trauma, trauma-informed care, and school violence.
Pratigya “Christy” Marhatta
Clinical Assistant Professor
Elementary Education
Pratigya “Christy” Marhatta, PhD, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is an assistant professor of Elementary Education focusing on primary literacy. Before arriving in Iowa, she was an elementary school teacher in Greensboro. Her research focuses on supporting pre-service and in-service teachers in creating equitable learning environments in elementary spaces.
Joseph McAnulty
Assistant Professor
Social Studies Education
Joseph McAnulty is a former middle school social studies teacher with an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Saint Louis University and a PhD in Educational Theory and Practice from the University of Georgia. His research and teaching remain responsive to the current and evolving civic landscape, consistently centering the inherently political dimensions of education and examining how contemporary social and political issues are navigated in the classroom.
Kimberly McFadden
Research Assistant Professor
Iowa Reading Research Center
Kimberly McFadden earned an MEd in Reading from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in Special Education from Lehigh University. She previously taught middle and high school special education in both public and private school settings. Her research focuses on reading interventions for secondary students with disabilities, particularly those with specific word recognition difficulties.
Emily Santi
Visiting Instructor
Counselor Education
Emily Santi has been a licensed mental health counselor in practice for nearly 20 years. For the past 12 years, she has also taught within the Human Relations minor. Santi's professional interests include exploring the connection between diet and mental health. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from North Dakota State University in 2001 and an MA in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Northern Iowa in 2008.
Arpita Sarker
Visiting Instructor
Educational Policy & Leadership Studies
Arpita Sarker received her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Language, Literacy, and Culture from Pennsylvania State University. She is trained in children's literature and disability studies in the Global South, reading disability representations, adolescent and adult pedagogies, and qualitative methods. She joined the college as a postdoctoral research scholar and also taught as an adjunct faculty in T&L and EPLS, and will continue to work and collaborate with both the departments.
Christian L. Steinmetz
Clinical Associate Professor
Higher Education and Student Affairs
Christian L. Steinmetz, who earned her PhD in Higher Education from the University of Virginia, is a higher education scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on academic advising, college student development, equity and belonging in higher education, and the experiences of student-athletes and other historically marginalized student populations. She brings extensive experience in student affairs leadership, teaching, advising, and graduate preparation in higher education and student affairs.
Laura Szech
Clinical Associate Professor
Elementary Education
Laura Szech is an educator and literacy scholar whose work focuses on culturally sustaining pedagogy, elementary literacy instruction, and teacher education. She previously served as associate professor of education at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and earned her PhD in Language, Literacy, and Social Studies Education from the University of Iowa.
Edward Wolfe
Professor
Educational Measurement and Statistics
Edward Wolfe, PhD, University of California, Berkley, is Iowa Testing Programs faculty chair, associate director of the Iowa Testing Programs, and professor of Educational Measurement & Statistics at the University of Iowa. He joined the university in January 2026. His work focuses on computational psychometrics, including the design and evaluation of AI-enabled measurement systems for educational assessment.
Murphy “Keller” Young
Visiting Assistant Professor
Special Education
Keller Young earned her PhD in Educational Research from Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on teacher learning within the context of literacy instruction.